GRANVILLE — Travis Swaggerty made his professional debut in front of a home crowd of 2,510 for the West Virginia Black Bears opener June 21, at Monongalia County Ballpark.
The lefty outfielder and 10th overall pick, by the Pittsburgh Pirates, was late signing following the June 4 draft, so he was a little late to the party. But on a night where the Pirates announced a continued partnership with the Black Bears through 2020 that allows Pittsburgh’s top prospects to play in Morgantown.
Swaggerty fits the mold, a five-tool player who batted .296 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs while drawing 54 walks for South Alabama.
While his pro debut was not a memorable performance — 0-3 with a walk in a 4-3 Black Bears win over state College — finally getting on the field after watching from the dugout for a week was something Swaggerty won’t soon forget.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ve never sat on the bench for five games before, and it was tough,” Swaggerty said, laughing. “I was super anxious, but at the same time, I was soaking it all in. I was studying, I was learning and I got my running and throwing progression in, and now my body’s in shape. I don’t think it was there a week ago, so those five days were crucial for me.”
Swaggerty signed his contract June 14 and was assigned to the Black Bears. Prior, his last game was May 26, at South Alabama.
Manager Kieran Mattison knew it would take some time for Swaggerty to get back into game shape, so Mattison decided to sit him in the meantime.
In limited time spent together, Mattison can see why Swaggerty was worth of a top 10 pick.
“He’s a great guy in the clubhouse and he’s a student of the game,” Mattison said. “That’s what I like most about him — he’s always asking questions. He was asking our pitching coach (Jason Stanford) when the lefty was up, ‘What would you throw in this situation?’
“Tonight, I saw the tools that he has, and he’s going to be exciting to watch. He’s been champing at the bit, so it was fun.”
After losing the first four games of the season, the Black Bears won three in a row. Thursday’s game was a comeback effort — they trailed, 2-0, in the sixth inning, but scored four runs in the bottom of the frame. State College pitcher Brett Seeburger had two bases-loaded walks to tie the game.
Then, left fielder Daniel Amaral, a 14th round pick out of UCLA, delivered the go-ahead hit over the third baseman’s head to score two runs.
“I was looking for a fastball there, and the pitcher made a good pitch by sinking it down and made me chase it,” Amaral said. “It may have been a ball or it may have not been, but that’s baseball right there for you, at its finest. You don’t have to hit the ball hard for it to be a hit, and I was fortunate enough for it to go over his head and not be a double play.”
Amaral finished with two RBIs, while catcher Zach Susi and third baseman Melvin Jimenez earned their RBIs on walks.
Pitcher Osvaldo Bido earned the win, throwing six innings and giving up two runs on four hits. Nicholas Economos earned the save with a perfect ninth inning.
The 4-3 win was the fifth one-run game in the first seven of the season for the Black Bears (3-4), so Mattison is happy to see the pieces start to come together.
“That was a sign of our early growth,” he said. “We let some slip away early and now, in the last three days, we’ve found ways to win those games, so guys are learning from past situations and it’s nice to see that.”
The series against the Spikes (3-4) continues at 7 p.m. today.
